The Best Homemade Taco Pizza
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Two of the best worlds collide to make the very best homemade taco pizza, ever! Using store-bought naan flatbread for the pizza crust makes it super simple and cuts down prep on time, but not on taste. We replace the marinara with a refried bean/salsa mixture and top with taco meat, mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, and Doritos!
If you know me personally or have followed me on Instagram for longer than 5 minutes then you know I have a deep rooted obsession with Casey’s Taco Pizza. It’s a midwestern small town delicacy that I sorely miss since moving to the South.
Taco pizza marries two of the VERY best things in the food world. TACOS AND PIZZA! It’s like it was invented just to please people (like me) who couldn’t make up their mind on whether they wanted tacos or pizza.
ingredients
- naan flatbread – this is my favorite short cut in place of homemade pizza crust. You can keep them in the freezer to keep on hand too! I find them at most grocery stores (in the fresh bakery section) and I also get big packs from Costco! If for whatever reason you can’t find this, you can use make your own or buy a large pre made pizza crust and just make one large pizza.
- taco seasoning (homemade or store bought)
- Doritos or Quest loaded taco protein chips – the protein chips add a little extra protein. Whichever you use will work and taste amazing.
- fat free refried beans
- your favorite taco sauce I love the flavor of the Ortega or Taco Bell mild sauce
- raw lean ground beef
- salsa – make sure its a favorite brand/I love mateos, but a little birdie told me that Casey’s uses pace picante mild sauce for their recipe.
- tomatoes (diced)
- iceberg lettuce (ripped up)
- part skim mozzarella cheese (if you can, get a block and throw it in your food processor to shred- freshly shredded mozzarella tastes and melts so much better)
- sour cream/extra taco sauce- optional, but I LOVE drizzling extra taco sauce on top and sour cream too. Just perfection.
how to make the best homemade taco pizza
I get it y’all. Ordering take out pizza is the best, especially if you’re lucky enough to actually be able to order taco pizza from somewhere, but trust me- you might never want to do that again because this homemade taco pizza recipe is pretty dang legit.
Eric stood in front of the fridge eating it cold one night and told me he thought it was the best thing I’ve ever made. and it was cold. I’m not really sure if that was a compliment, considering the lettuce and chips were soggy, but iykyk– cold taco pizza is also exceptionally awesome!!!
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and add half a pound of ground beef. Break apart and brown the meat. When its fully cooked, add taco seasoning, taco sauce, and water. Let it come to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let it cook for a few minutes.
Got some leftover Beef and Bean Taco Meat? It totally works! You’ll need a little over a cup total!
super quick n’ easy homemade taco seasoning
Mix together these spices to make the seasoning or use about a half of a taco seasoning packet
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch or flour (not totally necessary)
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place naan on a baking sheet and into the oven to pre-bake for about 3 minutes.
- In a small bowl add about 1-1/4 cup refried beans and 1/2 cup salsa. Stir together until combined well.
- Spread the refried bean and salsa “sauce” on top of the crust.
- Add a heaping 1/4 cup of taco meat on top of the refried beans.
- Sprinkle about 1/4 cup mozzarella over the beans and beef.
- Place pizzas into the oven to bake for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.
While the pizza bakes, prep your toppings! You can use regular Doritos or the Protein taco chips I talked about earlier. Honestly- they both are really, really good. The first time I made it I had the protein chips on top and Eric couldn’t tell. He was in Heaven!
the most important part
add the taco pizza toppings!
Don’t be shy. Let’s invite some of the best taco toppings to this party. Pile that shredded lettuce on even though you MIGHT be questioning my sanity if you’ve never had the pleasure of eating a big ol’ slice of taco pizza! Add tomatoes if that’s your thing. And then crumble up a good handful of chips!
Drizzle taco sauce and sour cream on top too cause trust me, you’re gonna love it! If you don’t love this, I don’t think we can be friends anymore. Just kiddin’… kinda.
When was Taco Pizza invented?
A little trivia for ya in case you find yourself wondering why in the world this is even a thing. After a little investigation it looks like it was invented around 1974 by Joe Whitty, founder of Happy Joes Pizza, in Iowa (my state neighbor growing up). Guess y’all get to take the bragging rights for this. I’m a little sore about it, but hey. THANK YOU IOWA. I might need to come visit just to try the original recipe.
How to store and reheat:
Here’s the thing. If you grew up on Taco Pizza the way I did then you probably know cold taco pizza with EVERYTHING on it is actually the best, but I get it. That might be an acquired taste.
For best results: only add the lettuce, tortilla chips, tomatoes, sour cream, etc to the pieces that are being eaten immediately. Add the toppings after reheating in the oven (350 for about 12-15 minutes), skillet (spray skillet and heat over medium heat til warm), or air fryer (375 for about 5-6 minutes).
Store in a tightly covered container for 3-5 days.
Is Taco Pizza healthy?
The million dollar question. This recipe is quite a bit healthier than the average piece of pizza. It’s pretty protein heavy which helps keep you satisfied longer. Plus lettuce, so it’s basically a salad with croutons, right? *wink*
I’m just going to say this. When creating this recipe, I didn’t exactly set out to create a healthy recipe. I set out to create a recipe that reminded me of Casey’s Taco Pizza that used some healthier ingredients and satisfied my craving for it (since we don’t have access to taco pizza here).
Nutritionally speaking for most things, homemade is generally a healthier choice and comparing the nutritional facts this homemade version definitely wins. But still, this one is Skinny-ish, folks.
other recipes you’ll enjoy if you love this:
Homemade Taco Pizza
Materials
Taco Pizza
- 4 original naan flatbreads found in bakery section of most grocery stores
- 1-1/4 cup non fat refried beans
- 1/2 cup salsa I use Mateo's mild
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 package taco seasoning (or use quick homemade blend in blog post/notes)
- 2 tbsp mild taco sauce I use Ortega mild
- 1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella freshly shredded melts and tastes best, but already shredded will work just fine
Taco Pizza Toppings
- 2-3 cups ripped up iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 2 ounces Doritos and/or quest loaded taco chips
- extra taco sauce to drizzle optional
- sour cream (add a little water/lime juice to drizzle easier) optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- When the oven had preheated, place naan on a baking sheet and into the oven to pre-bake for about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, In a skillet over medium-high heat spray with cooking spray and add raw ground beef. Break apart with spatula and cook. When fully cooked, add seasoning, taco sauce, and 1/4 cup water. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for a few minutes.
- In a small bowl add about 1-1/4 cup refried beans and 1/2 cup salsa. Stir together until combined well.
- After the flatbread has prefaced for a few minutes, spread the refried bean and salsa "sauce" on top of the crust. Add a heaping 1/4 cup of taco meat on top of the refried beans. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup mozzarella over the beans and beef.
- Place pizzas into the oven to bake for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.
- Top the pizzas with ripped up iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and taco chips! Drizzle with sour cream and extra taco sauce, if desired. Cut each pizza in half. Serve immediately.
- If not eating immediately- hold off on adding the lettuce, tomatoes and chips! And add those after reheating the pizza.
Notes
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch or flour (not totally necessary)
So good! My family loved. I used the mini-naans available at Aldi and it made the perfect single serve size for my kids. I, of course, had two:)
Just when I think that you can’t possibly hit it out of the park again, here we are! Holy smokes.
I used your salsa recipe that I mixed w/ my refried beans and soooo good!! 10/10 would absolutely recommend this. Easy and a nice spin on taco night. Cannot wait to make this again! Thanks Star!!!
Yay!!!I’m so happy you love this one. I’m still so excited how close I got it to my favorite taco pizza!
Thanks Star! My husband and I are empty nesters so we are always looking for easy healthy dinners. Oh my goodness this taco pizza is so delicious! It’s a keeper in our house!
YAY! Thank you so much for stopping back here to let me know how it went when you made these, Maria. Glad y’all enjoyed’m too!
Oh man this was so good! The picky 6 year old even liked it! It is entering the dinner rotation for sure!
Yay!! Always good to hear when a kid enjoys. They are my harshest critics. Haha!
Super easy and tasty! Skipped the lettuce and add lots of jalapeños, tomatoes, sour cream, taco sauce & Doritos. We used Joseph’s pita bread for 60 calories each. Will definitely make this again.
I love this and I can’t wait to make it! What size naan are you using? I buy the Stonefire brand and they have original, mini and dippers. Thanks Star!!
Hi Elissa! In this recipe I’m using the original naan so they are the large ones (come in a 2 pack) here’s a link to the exact ones:
You can use the mini ones if you can’t find the larger ones! Dippers will be too small, but I do love those!
Cannot wait to try this one Star – you had me at Dorito’s!
Thanks Biz! I bet this would taste delicious with your skinny pizza dough!
I can’t wait to try this! Casey’s taco pizza is the ultimate and I always get it when back home at my parents’ house. Once, we got our pizza home and realized they had FORGOTTEN THE CHIPS. My dad immediately grabbed his keys and went to the store to get Doritos (it was closer than going back to Casey’s). That man was not having naked taco pizza.
FORGOT THE CHIPS? They might as well have forgotten the entire dang pizza! haha! I hope you love this version!!